HTPC Build For A First Timer

[El_Jefe2015]

I would like to build an HTPC but have no idea where to begin or what I would need to achieve what I want but I can give you an idea of my budget & what I would like to be able to do with the setup if it helps, so here goes:

Budget: £500 ($760 Roughly)

Functionality:

Rip old DVDs to HDD

Record from satellite TV to HDD (priority)

Somehow integrate my Apple TV & it's services into said setup (priority)

Have it powerful enough to possibly run steam

Surf the net

Have a Blu-Ray/DVD optical drive to play US titles (just as an extra)

Would this be possible for the money?

As I said I know what I want to do but don't know A) where to start or B) If it's possible.

Thanks for the help folks

[Pittman90]

First of all do you have another pc (preferably with good graphics)  that you can stream from? If yes than you can stream games from to the htpc through steam in home streaming. 

 

Lets assume for this purpose that you dont. I would say you could get by fine with what you want with either the new intel pentium (the one linus used to compare with the 5960x with overclocking) or a low end i3 or even i5. You would probably be with with something like a 960 because i am assuming you could be running 1080p. 

 

As for a dvd/ blue ray drive there are plenty that are pretty cheap that you can find. 

 

this might work for you if you are trying to plug in cable into your pc http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815116037

there are also cheaper alternatives i have seen some that are USB

 

As for the apple tv you can do all of the netflix hulu stuff online and there is a program that you can mirror your ipad /iphone to your pc (im sorry i cant remember the name but its a free software.)

 

Hope this helps

if you need more help i don't mind creating a pc part picker list if you need it

[El_Jefe2015]

Pittman90 a PC part picker list would be more than helpful as I said I'm a total novice & apart from budget & knowing what I would like it to do I have no clue parts wise where to begin.

[Guest trucker2]

My gaming pc is less then 200 bucks, under 3 if I used all new parts. My HTPC is gonna be my old pc with a bluray player for 40 odd bucks.

I would google HTPC build, There are builds from 35 bucks based on the rasberry pi 2 to i5 based builds with a 750ti graphics card.

For a painfree simple build the APU's like the A6 to the A10 are very popular. Software is the hard part for me, Windows, Linux or OpenELEC.

There is also an HTPC thread and some sites dedicated to just HTPC.

Hope this helps